


Bridget

by Dharma_Snowbush



Series: Supergirl Redux [4]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/F, Headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-15 17:40:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11235960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dharma_Snowbush/pseuds/Dharma_Snowbush
Summary: A life Lena Luthor almost lived.





	Bridget

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a jokey headcanon between my friend and I, but I ended up writing some of it into _Vigilante Business_. Because it wasn't originally conceived for that story, the events in this contradict VB a little bit due to me having to adjust it to fit it into my longer story, but if you're curious about Lena's past that I alluded to, this will give you a sense of where my mind is at. If you haven't read any of Supergirl Redux, this stands on its own, but what the heck are you waiting for - it's a great series!

After graduation, Lena spent nine months in Ireland trying to find any trace of her family. The Luthors had any mention of her mother's maiden name expunged from Lena's birth records and her adoption records were all closed. The only thing Lena knows is that she was adopted from an orphanage in the southern part of Ireland. So it's there she begins her search. Lena meets Bridget Maguire at a genealogy library in Killarney where she volunteers when she's not tending bar in a hole in the wall pub. Bridget has red hair and freckles and Lena thinks she might have stepped right out of some fairy ring. That's how beautiful Lena thinks she is, like she can't possibly be real. Bridget helps Lena search for her family, but also makes her do touristy stuff in county Kerry and elsewhere. Bridget likes Lena, but thinks she could stand to loosen up a bit. When Bridget finds out Lena's favorite movie of all time is _The Princess Bride_ , she takes her to see the Cliffs of Moher. They spend the day together taking pictures and laughing as the wind whips their hair around. They watch the sunset. That night they stay in a small cottage in one of the nearby villages. They don't do much sleeping. The next day they attend a céilí. Bridget laughs when Lena tries to join in because she dances like she's a foal just getting used to its legs.

Bridget makes Lena watch rugby matches (they root for Munster, Go Red Army!) mostly at the pub where Bridget works, but sometimes they go out to see the games. When it's cold in the stadium, Lena links arms with Bridget, pulling her close to share body heat. Bridget wraps her scarf around both of their necks. 

They don't find Lena's family, but they do find an indexed record of a hospital file. They don't have the clearance to get into the records room of the hospital where the hard copies of all the pre-1999 medical records are kept. But Bridget flirts with a young nurse, distracting her long enough to give Lena the time to sneak in and steal the file. There's barely any information in it, nothing that Lena doesn't already know, but there is one thing. A polaroid of a woman holding a newborn that someone stapled to the inside. _Aoife with baby girl_ is scrawled at the bottom. It's a picture of Lena's mother. It's a picture of Lena with her mother. The only one she's ever seen. As far as she knows, it's the only one that exists.

Bridget is the first person who makes Lena feel like she is enough. Like it doesn't matter what her last name is or who her family is. She feels safe and wanted and loved. Lena considers extending her trip indefinitely, but one day she sees an email from Lillian. She needs Lena to come home, Lex is having a "breakdown" and Lena needs to be there to support her family and the company. She tries to ignore it, but it's caused reality to come crashing down around her. She knows she has to go home. But she's cowardly. She can't bring herself to say goodbye to Bridget. She leaves their bed early in the morning. She didn't sleep, just cried quietly late into the night after she was sure Bridget was asleep.

She doesn't turn her phone back on until she's in Metropolis. She has a dozen panicked text messages. She sends one back assuring Bridget she's OK, that there was a family emergency she had to attend to and that she'd explain everything later. But then things with Lex get worse and then she's appointed CEO and now she has a company to run.

She never does explain.

Eventually Bridget stops calling and texting.

And Lena is swallowed back up into the Luthor name.

National City is supposed to be a new start for Lena, but she can't leave her legacy behind. She's still forced to constantly answer for the sins of her family. She comes to terms with the fact that she will always feel unmoored, that 'home' is a nebulous concept she may never pin down. She resigns herself to the singular focus of work.

When Kara walks in that day, unannounced and unexpected, Lena feels like she is seeing the sun again. Like she forgot how warm and comforting its rays can be. That is what Kara's smile is like. Being near her makes the pain and loneliness that had been constricting Lena's chest, slowly suffocating her, fade away. Lena feels like she is able to breathe deeply for the first time since Bridget.

Kara takes her hand as they walk through the park one night after they had dinner together and this time, Lena knows she will never let go.


End file.
